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Did anyone else think the chinese gymnast did not look at least 16 years of age?
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Anonymous
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I had a very hard time believe that- here's an article that talks about it too
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/olympics/2008/writers/selena_roberts/08/13/china.gymnasts/index.html?cnn=yes |
Anonymous
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Some looked young. But at the end of the day they did not win because they were young, they won because they were better.
BTW, I thought they looked better because they were thinner. You know, mutton vs. lamb. |
Anonymous
| I actually think that it is purely about body weight. We as Americans are so used to size 12 ten year olds that it is hard to believe that there are whole populations that think we all look older because of our excess weight. |
Anonymous
| I don't agree on the weight part being the reason the gymnasts look young.. they looked young since they had almost baby teeth and were super small- short- body of a 12 year old more than a 16 year old.. |
Anonymous
| They are not all at least 16. Chinese and American journalists have evidence that at least a couple of them are as young as 12, but there is nothing to be done about it because the Olympics require only a government-issued passport as proof of age, and they have those. |
Anonymous
| The youngest really are 14. |
Anonymous
They are chinese, being short is not that unusual. The veteran of the team is not that much taller than the others. BTW, what exactly are "almost baby teeth". I still have two "baby teeth", does that mean that I cannot be 37. |
Anonymous
| I watch the final last night and all I can say is that, unless you but the Karoyi's line that "the babies don't feel pressure and therefore are less prone to make mistakes", the age of the Chinese team had nothing to the win. The American team choked - end of story. They had a chance at gold and what happened - three mistakes that guaranteed China the spot. To paraphrase one of the commentators from last night. The final Chinese team member could have fallen in every tumbling pass and the team still would have won the gold medal. |
Anonymous
| All medal discussions aside (chinese clearly performed better) there is NO WAY that all those girls are 16. |
Anonymous
| I don't think the issue is one of whining. The chinese deserved to win - no doubt about that. But the rules are put in place to protect those young girls and if a country is abusing them, then that is an issue. Personally i thought any mother would look at those girls faces and think they were of girls before puberty at the oldest. Except the 20 year old that is. It was nice to see that most of the american team looked like women. |
Anonymous
Come on. Do you think all the other gymnasts -- from many countries -- were just out of shape fatties? No, they have hit puberty and are developing busts and hips. Before the age limit was put in place there were rarely Olympic gymnasts of college age -- and the older "vets" stood out because they had developed more in the hips and busts. Now the Chinese gymnasts stand out because none of them appear to have physically hit puberty yet -- not because they are merely thin! There are differences between women with a slight builds and girls. |
Anonymous
| Totally OT - PP, how do you still have two baby teeth? |
Anonymous
Have no clue, they just never fell out I guess. I have had X-rays done and there is no other tooth under the gums. Every dentist I have been to have been surprised at the first exam - one idiot suggest that I have them extracted. |
Anonymous
The 20 year old veteran on the Chinese team was still slimmer than the Americans, most of whom were younger than she. I hit puberty very late and am still thin enough that I buy shorts in the teen section after two kids. Ny dd will probably be like me. We are not hippy breasty women in my family. At 20 I was mistaken for a 12 year old. At 40 I have been taken for 27. No I do not starve myself. Some women are just built that way. Gymnastics is not a sport for heavy women. That is that. Same way basketball is not for short women. Yes, there are exceptions. The Chinese select more carefully for their gymnasts. If Yao Ming's daughter wanted to be a gymnast, the coaches would not take her seriously even at age 5. They would see where her height was going and tell her parents to find another sport. They will also seek the most petite, strongest, most flexible, confident girls early to be gymnasts. In this country, coaches don't go from elementary school to elementary school looking for future gymnasts. The US has many petite girls, we just don't put them in gymnastics. That said, yes those two girls were 14. However, I don't think that this is child abuse. |
Anonymous
| It is known that 2 girls are 12 or 14- not 16- but because the olympic committee only requires a passport- well- with china being the issuer- not a problem! So- the girls are not 16- but because the corrupt china govn't will issue any passport to make it work- , well, here we are.. SO- China sucks- been there to Beijing- and yes- the pictures you see of oppressed people- it's there.. eternal military at tiananmen sq- |